Unit 5 Study Guide
Chapter 13
1. List four major types of agriculture. Compare the energy sources, environmental impacts, yields, and
sustainability of traditional and industrial agriculture.
2. Evaluate the green revolution. What were its successes? Its failures? Summarize the benefits and
problems of livestock production over the history of agriculture.
3. Define interplanting and explain its advantages. List and briefly describe four types of interplanting
commonly used by traditional farmers.
4. Summarize the state of global food production. Define malnutrition and undernutrition, and
overnutrition. Indicate how many people on Earth suffer from these problems and where these
problems are most likely to occur. List six steps proposed by UNICEF to deal with malnutrition and
under nutrition. Describe a strategy to reduce overnutrition.
5. Discuss the use of genetic engineering techniques to improve the human food supply.
6. Summarize environmental impacts from agriculture.
7. Summarize food distribution problems. Describe the possibilities of increasing world food production
by increasing crop yields, cultivating more land and using conventional foods and perennial crops.
8. Discuss problems associated with the production of livestock on rangeland.
9. Describe trends in the world fish catch since 1950. Assess the potential for increasing the annual fish
catch and use of aquaculture. Distinguish between fish farming and fish ranching.
10. Assess the pros and cons of agricultural subsidies and international food relief. Describe strategies
that you feel would be most sustainable.
11. Define sustainable agriculture. Summarize how the United States could move toward creating a more
sustainable agricultural system.
Chapter 23
1. List five types of public lands in the United States. Explain the mission and principles of management
of each. Summarize the “takings issue” currently being used by the Wise-Use Movement.
2. Distinguish between old-growth and second-growth forests and give one example of each.
Distinguish between a second-growth forest and a tree farm.
3. List five reasons why forests are commercially important. List five reasons forests are ecologically
important.
4. Summarize the range of estimates of rates of tropical deforestation. Explain why there is so much
variation among estimates. List five ways that tropical forest touch lives in the temperate zones.
Summarize the impact of deforestation on some of the worlds; indigenous cultures. Describe a plan to
protect indigenous peoples.
5. Live five factors underlying causes of tropical deforestation. List six human activities which actually
destroy the tropical forests. Evaluate Japan’s environmental track record. Summarize the fuelwood
crisis.
6. Distinguish between the goals of even-aged management and uneven-aged management. List four
types of tree harvesting, indicating which type of management they are most likely to be used for.
7. Distinguish among surface fires, crown fires and ground fires. Summarize threats to forests from
fires, pathogens and air pollution and strategies for dealing with each threat.
8. Distinguish among industrial forestry, “New Forestry,” and sustainable forestry. List eight ways to
move toward sustainable forestry management. List at least five ways to reform federal forest
management. List three ways to reduce demand for wood products. Explain the roles that straw and
kenaf can play in reducing demand for wood.
9. List ways to help reduce the interlocking problems of tropical deforestation and the fuelwood crisis.
Address scientific data collection, economic strategies, cultural strategies and strategies to reduce
demand of fuelwood.
10. Summarize Costa Rica’s efforts to protect and restore forests. Evaluate the “debt-for-nature”
experiment in Bolivia. Describe one case where individual actions made a difference in helping to
reduce forest destruction.
Chapter 25
1. List five worldwide trends in population distribution. Describe the three major shifts in population
distribution in U.S. history. Summarize the factors that contribute to urban growth.
2. List and briefly describe three models of urban structure.
3. Summarize the following urban environmental problems: vegetation, water runoff and flooding, heat
islands and dust domes, solid-waste disposal, air pollution, noise pollution, human health, land
conversion, social disruption. List three ways that urban areas positively affect the environment.
4. List the pros and cons of the major urban transportation options: individual transit (walking, biking,
motorized vehicles) and mass transit (rail systems and buses). List three policies that contribute to a
positive feedback loop creating more dependence on automobiles. Describe three policies that would
create negative feedback loops.
5. Differentiate between conventional and ecological land-use planning. List two means by which local
governments can control the rate of development. Summarize obstacle to more ecological land-use
planning.
6. Summarize urban maintenance and repair problems.
7. Identify one positive loop that tends to harm urban areas. Briefly consider ways to counteract that
loop.
8. List five approaches to improving urban life. Choose one case study from your textbook. Evaluate
how far your chosen urban area has come in implementing these five approaches.